Page 10 - 11 May 2012

The good news is we can all take a few steps today toward building our legacy.
Billy Peterson, CFP ® Peterson Wealth Services, Inc. 877-470-4002 www.petersonwealthservices.com
Creating an ethical will.
by Billy Peterson
How many choices can you come up with that illustrate the fragility of Life? Life is too short! There is no tomorrow! Seize the day! Don’t
take anything for granted!
If you have ever lost a loved one you start to take
these quips to heart. As we grow older we also begin to ponder our own mortality. Sometimes an interest- ing discussion to have with yourself is, ‘what do I want people to remember about me?’
Do you want to go down in history as an American icon such as John Wayne or Ronald Reagan? Maybe you want people to remember your fun-loving personality or be thought of as the life of the party, such as John Belushi or Chris Farley.
If you’re not a celebrity, which most of us are not, you might be more concerned with how your family and close friends would remember you if you were gone tomorrow. Would you have said everything
you wanted to today? Would you have passed on the wisdom and life lessons that you obtained, whether in the school of hard knocks or from your parents, men- tors and allies? For most of us, the answer is no.
The good news is we can all take a few steps today toward building our legacy and in the process leave our spouses, children and grandchildren some invalu- able information about who we are, how we were raised, mistakes we made and what we found out about life along the way. Essentially it would be our own personal memoir.
Creating the memoir or diary can be done in conjunction with your will and trust. After all, draw- ing up your estate documents forces you to reflect on your current situation, how your loved
ones would be affected by your death and
what plans you have for your assets. The
t t e e c c h h n n i i c c a a l l t t e e r r m m f f o or r t t h h i i s s l l i i f f e e s s t t o o r r y y i i s s t t h h e e
‘ethical will.’
There are some great resources avail- able to assist with this process. Amazon sells keepsake journals; one example is titled “A Conversation with My Mother” by author Ronni Lundy, to help celebrate a lifetime of stories. It is never too early to begin writing your ethical will. You never know what tomorrow will bring, to pile on yet another cliché.
If your parents or grandparents haven’t provided you their life story, go get if from them yourself. Use handy workbooks like “Grandma Do You Remember When?” by author Amy Krouse Rosenthal, or “The Story of a Lifetime” by authors Pamela Pavuk and
J. Richard Huxen, to capture all of the important details about your relatives’ respective lives.
Someone in the family needs to be proactive to make this happen. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that, first of all, your assets are protected and distributed according to your wishes, and secondly, your life story is captured and passed along for generations to come? Preserve special memories and instill an appreciation for your family history by communicating what your values are and what you stand for.

message, starting is the key. As pen hits paper, you have begun. With the help of the journals noted earlier, the process is almost automatic.
New York Times top 10. It is a gift in your own words for those you care about.

loved ones really understand? Sometimes starting
at the end can help formulate the message

other legal documents or refer where it can be found.

weight when you are gone, there may be valuable lessons to be shared while you are here to elaborate. While everyone should have a will/trust in place
to protect their financial assets, an ethical will can mean even more to the family you leave behind.
THE STORIES OF LIFE
8 SPEEDHORSE, May 11, 2012
FINANCIAL FORUM